A variety of new materials have been developed during the past two decades in China to support the design and construction of key components for next step fusion devices. Most recently, a domestic project, promoted by the engineering design of China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR), has been launched to preliminarily investigate the performance of advanced fusion materials after neutron irradiation. The goal of this paper is to introduce the preparation for the coming neutron irradiation campaign. The development status and acceptance of some outstanding fusion materials are briefly reviewed with the main description focusing on some high-performance 9Cr-ODS steels, Cu–0.3Al₂O₃ alloys, W-K and W-ZrC alloys for blanket/divertor components. The principles for screening suitable materials out from several candidates are suggested, which consider low activation, sufficient production scale, homogeneous microstructures, safety margin and repeatability of basic properties as the basic requirements. As a recommended approach for neutron irradiation tests, the small sample testing technology (SSTT) is highlighted in this paper. Further development of SSTT using inverse finite element method (FEM) and energy equivalent principle is performed for new designs of small tensile samples.